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‘Green Lantern’ alum Darryl Banks returns with Kickstarter-funded GN

Artist Darryl Banks wowed people with his run on Green Lantern in the 1990s. Working alongside writer Ron Marz, he co-created Kyle Rayner, both the ire and admiration of fans at the time. But after a 16-year career as a full-time cartoonist, Banks stepped away from the industry in 2004. Sure, he’s popped up here and there, doing one-off issues like the great Green Lantern: Retroactive, but he’s not been seen in much else. But that’s changing.

With a Kickstarter launching late last night, Horizon’s End is a graphic novel by Banks and two longtime comic fans named Daron Kappauff and Chris Celloiacono, who are looking to break into the industry with this creator-owned effort. The duo assembled quite a team, looping in Banks as well as other veterans like letterer Troy Peteri and colorist Moose Baumann; the project even boasts cover art by Stephane Roux.Owing some to Banks’ past in space-faring stories, Horizon’s Endis described by the writers as an epic in the vein of classic space opera and sci-fi adventure stories. It follows a teenage girl named Andara out to avenge the murder of her loved ones while also coming to terms with her recent emancipation from slavery.

“We first meet Andara on the remote, backwater planet Usyel, as she and her mentor, Caido, attempt to free the pre-industrialized people from the Black Dominion – an intergalactic syndicate that preys on weak societies that haven’t yet reached first-contact with off-world life,” the authors say on the Kickstarter page. “The story quickly takes a tragic turn, though, as Andara finds herself alone on this hostile world, surrounded by a xenophobic race of aliens that simply see her as another invader. Our heroine soon learns that there’s more to being a hero than charging in and smashing heads together. And she has to decide whether she can put the needs of an entire planet before her growing urge to simply mete out her revenge and move on.”

The Horizon’s End team is looking to raise $45,000 by July 18 fund the creation of this book, with that money going to paying Banks and the rest of the art team, and the remaining going into the printing of the 120 page-graphic novel. Here’s a look at the cover, along with an interior page both by Banks.